Buried Memories
Near the village of Kumogakure, there is a hidden place of residence. This is where the infamous Tukanachi Clan lives in. Among the seven members is a boy named Chimotofu Tukanachi. He is forbidden to learn any jutsus and can never be a ninja. The clan has a tradition for there to be only one son and daughter, after they were nearly wiped out by the Delta organization. Chimotofu is now 12 years of age and will do whatever it takes to become a ninja! Chimotofu began eating an apple that his mom stole from a market in Kumogakure. He looked down at the bed that he was sitting on and thought to himself, "I wish I was eating an apple that wasn't stolen." But hey, he couldn't just not eat, so he accepted the stolen food. Something else was bothering Chimotofu as well. He didn't know what though, but he knew something bad was going to happen. The next thing Chimotofu knew, his grandfather, Glo Tukanachi, came walking inside the door. "Boy, we need to talk." Glo said with an angry tone. Chimotofu was scared of Glo and decided not to speak, so Glo said, "Fine, don't answer. Either way, you are a failure and it's time to go." With that, Glo quickly got in front of Chimotofu's face and injected his right shoulder with some weird liquid in a syringe he was hiding. Glo laughed and said, "You can never be faster than me boy." Chimotofu was having a hard time staying awake, he dropped his apple and fell back, sleeping. Glo looked at the sleeping Chimotofu and said, "You are a failure within our clan. You should have never existed in the first place. We are murderers, you are not. I banish you from our clan! You're not even listening because you're sleeping, which you won't wake up for three days." Glo takes out a note from his pocket and tapes it to Chimotofu's shirt. He then grabs him and they both disappear and reappear in a field. Glo looked around and said to himself, "The Teleportationn Jutsu allows you or a party, if they are at physical contact, to teleport to any area in a matter of seconds. I teleported near the Hidden Root Village. Goodbye Chimotofu." ''And with that, Glo teleported away, leaving Chimotofu sleeping in the empty field near the Hidden Root Village, with no one around. A couple of miles away from the entrance of the Hidden Root Village, a Child of Chakra known as Akari Rinku was walking back home after an hour of hunting while lost in thought. She held a bottle of what looked like some soft of red liquid in her right hand, this liquid was the only thing she was able to get from her hour of hunting. In was obvious that she wasn't ordinary because, despite her young age, she was walking outside the village without a single hint of worry showing. Perhaps it wasn't because she was brave, but because she was both strong and a little stupid. Akari was a small girl with midnight black hair, green eyes that had a childish look to them, and a relaxed demeanor. Like most members of the Rinku Clan, she had very sharp fangs, Akari's fangs were half an inch long and just the tips of the fangs were visible because of the fact that her mouth was shut and not making any noise for once. Akari's attire was pretty causal, a short-sleeved blue-green shirt that had spots of the red liquid stained on it, long navy blue pants, and blue sandals. After thirty minutes of walking, she stumbled upon a large field that was a half a mile from her village. She was jerked out of her thoughts when a whiff of a living person was nearby. This was odd, this field was usually empty. After a moment, of hesitation her curiosity won and she decided to investigate. A minute passed before she reached a small boy laying down in the field. "Hello? Are you awake." Akari asked in her usual childish way. Chimotofu doesn't respond. Akari waited for a while, but she didn't hear the boy respond. This didn't make any sense to Akari, why would a boy like him sleep unprotected in the middle of a field were predators and killers like her sister could kill him. She leaned her head down slightly. As soon as she did so she caught the scent of something strange in the boy's blood. "Is that poison I smell?" Akari asked herself. After, speaking she knelt down next to the boy and hesitated. Akari knew that there is only one way to wake the boy up. However, despite being a member of the Rinku Clan, she is still a child and the thought of drinking human blood makes her shiver in disgust. "It's not like I'm doing this for my own gain, I'm just helping him, that's all." Akari thought to herself to try to justify her actions. Akari tilted the boy's head to the side to expose his neck before leaning her head down to bite the boy's neck. As soon as she started drinking the boy's blood she immediately tasted the poison. It tasted awful, but it didn't cause Akari to fall asleep because of immunity to blood-borne illnesses or ill effects. After, she could not taste the poison anymore she let go of the boy's neck and leaned back so that she was sitting two feet away from him. -----Chimotofu was in a dark room, and all he could see was his father, Toshu, looking down at him. "You are a humiliation Chimotofu! You are a thorn in my side, and you should be eliminated!" Toshu said with a loud and angry tone. Chimotofu could not stand this any longer, so he began running away from his father and into the darkness. Although, no matter how far he went, he still heard his father complaining about him, getting louder and louder. He covered his ears and began saying, "Stop, I am not a humiliation! I don't deserve this! Just stop, stop, stop please!" Chimotofu woke up in the field screaming, "STOP!" Chimotofu relaxed a bit and looked at the surrounding field, and then at Akari. At that instant, he jumped up and shouted, "I'm in Heaven and God's a girl!" He ran towards Akari and tackled her, while hugging her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm not with my horrible family and I'm in heaven!" Chimotofu then stood up, backed away two feet, and said, "I'm sorry God. I'm just happy." As soon as Akari was beginning to relax she felt the boy tackle her and when he did her head hit the ground hard. This was one of Akari's most unique trait: she had terrible luck, almost as if luck was allergic to her. When the boy finally got off of her and stopped talking she said with a smile: "You are not dead and my name isn't God, it's Akari." She wondered what had happened to this boy so she added as she sat up "What happened to you? Who poisoned you?" Chimotofu was upset, yet relieved that he wasn't dead. He said, "Oh, my name is Chimotofu, and I believe it was Glo, my grandfather, who poisoned me." Before he was going to ask how is he awake, he noticed the note on his shirt. He took of the note and read it in his head, ''"Boy, you are a humiliation to the clan and you are banished from it. Never return or you will not survive your visit." ''This was horrible, even though he hated most of his family and they hated him, he never thought he will be banished. He always thought his sister, mom and grandma loved him, but to let Glo banish him, he couldn't believe it. He dropped the note and watched as it floated down to the ground, and then tears began dropping slowly from his eyes. As the note dropped Akari read the note before looking back at Chimotofu. She sort of knew how he felt, everyone but her sister hated and feared her and it wasn't only because of her bad luck, but because of what she is. Akari didn't know much about the boy or his clan so there wasn't much she could say to cheer him up. "If you always look towards the bad parts of life, you will be blinded from the good. For example: you could now join my village and grow strong enough to make them regret doing this." Akari said. Chimotofu looked at Akari and said, "My grandfather, brother and father are skilled ninja. You can't hope to win against any one of them unless you train with them! Thank you for your offer, but I'll have to refuse. I must go back to them, no matter the cost. Goodbye Akari, and thank you for helping me." With that, Chimotofu began walking away...of course he had no idea where to go from here. Akari got up and ran up to Chimotofu. "It's true I can't beat them, at least not right now. But I know a lot very strong shinobi. Maybe they could teach you." Akari said. As a Child of Chakra, Akari's body is made of chakra so the possibility that she will become a very strong and dangerous shinobi one day is very high. Children of Chakra have a history of becoming very strong shinobi. After all: they are not called "Tailed Beast Tamers" for nothing. "Perhaps if I told him what I am he will listen to me?" Akari thought. Her sister, Mikuru, told never to do so because that could cause people to fear her and hunt her down. Chimotofu was surprised with what Akari said and he said, "I come from an infamous clan of murderers. Our clan is most likely known throughout the world. If I show my face to your village and tell them who I am, they might fear and hate me. Great, now you probably fear me too. But listen, I'm not like my clan, I'm not a murderer!" Chimotofu calmed down a bit and sat down. He wondered what would happen if he went to the village. He was scared to go, but he had no where else to go, he didn't even know where his home was from here! Not to mention he didn't even know where he was. He had no other choice, he had to trust Akari, but does she fear and hate him now? Akari didn't show any fear at all. Perhaps it was because she was very stupid or maybe it was because she was brave. "Many people fear me too..." Akari said. The pause at the end of her sentence made it seem like she wanted to continue her sentence but something was holding her back. "They don't need to know that, what they won't know can't kill them." Akari continued. A throaty laugh answers Chimotofu's denial. The gravelly voice of a figure sitting in a dark corner by the light of a small fire speaks up finally, "You seem to carry the weight of the memories of many on you. You say you are not a murderer... but you claim to not be like your clan? You are their heir, the culmination of generations of sacrifice and bloodshed." The figure tips a coal over in the fire with his gnarled cane, and it kicks up sparks, briefly illuminating his sightless white eyes, the deep lines of his face like pale crags. "Do not dishonor your ancestors or their choices. It can only bring misfortune down upon you." The figure stands, before heading quietly to the door of the shack. "If you want to forget, the forest is a good place. A man can forget himself there... he can be reborn. If you want a new life, Chimotofu, seek me in the forest." As the man opens the door into the night air, a fell wind flows in, and a thick fog gushes around the figure as he vanishes beyond. Chimotofu was confused, he didn't know how to explain what he just saw. He blinked repeatedly three times and said, "I have no clue what just happened. Was that one of your village members? What forest was he talking about?" Chimotofu did not trust this man at all and he didn't know if he wanted to seek him or not. He'll have to gather information from the village members. And he disagreed with the man when he said that dishonoring his ancestors will bring misfortune. How can not being a murderer bring misfortune? This man even knew his name! Chimotofu had many questions, and he hoped he will receive answers. When Akari noticed the man a shiver went down her spine, anyone who knew Akari well enough knew that when she shivered like that misfortune was in the near future. Akari's predictions weren't always right, but they were usually close. The feeling stayed there until the man had finally left them. "No, he is not part of my village and I think he was talking about a forest a mile west from here. When people around here talk about a forest, that's usually what they mean." Akari responded. Chimotofu was actually glad that a creepy man like that wasn't part of her village. Chimotofu looked at Akari, then at the sky. He trusted Akari and is willing to go to her village. He was still scared to meet new people in a new area, but he would conquer that fear today. The next thing Chimotofu knew, his stomach was growling loudly and he said with an embarassed smile, "Oh yeah, I didn't finish eating that apple. Sorry for asking, but will there be food to spare in the village?" "Yeah, there will be food to spare." Akari said. She looked in the direction of the forest before adding: "Are you sure you don't want to go to the forest first? I bet we could find something to eat on the way there." Chimotofu looked at the direction Akari was looking at and said, "The man said a person can be reborn there." Chimotofu only wanted to become stronger and become a ninja, and no matter how scared he might be of going into that forest, he must learn to conquer his fear and take risks. A ninja will be going into unknown places all the time, this forest will be good practice. He breathed in, then out, and said, "Alright, let's go into the forest first." Akari nodded before standing up. Akari was beginning to appreciate being with this boy. Not only for his bravery, but because he didn't question the puncture wounds in his neck which was probably hurting him. "Are you ready to go now?" Akari asked. Chimotofu noticed the pain in his neck, and considering the fact he is awake early, he figured it was Akari who took out the poison, so he figured she was a vampire. Truthfully, he was a scaredy cat. Of course, if he wanted to become a ninja, he would have to face his fears eventually. He would also hide his fear to make sure no one notices it, but the only people who have were his family members. "Yes, let's get going." He responded. With that, they began walking towards the forest. The barren branches of the treetops quake and tumble in the chilled wind. The listless breeze grabs and scatters the withered leaves beneath, tossing them into the air haphazardly. A yellow one dances for a few moments, and the setting sun casts a dim light through it before it settles on the damp soil. For a moment, a small pile of human and animal skulls is visible amongst the darknened roots. Swiftly, the wind conceals this bizarre vision as leaves tumble over the entrance to the small hole. It is late autumn. Every outdrawn breath becomes a visible mist, and seems to hang in the air for a moment, before dissipating into nothingness. The Forgotten Forest is every bit as ominous as the locals described it... darkened oaken trunks twisting and contorting into unnatural angles. A darkness that seems more like a wall than a treeline- but does this wall serve to keep intruders out... or to trap something within? Dozens of rumors and myths surround the place. Hauntings, possessions, missing persons... insanity, murders. Strange events hang around the forest like so many cobwebs. In fact, it seems as though the forest is home to nothing but variations of spiders... no birds can be heard, and little else besides the clattering of the branches in the riotous breeze. If the rumors are true, the old man lives in the deepest, most remote region of the old woods. Although, the rumors also say he's an oni, or perhaps a ghost. More likely than not, he's just a retired ninja living out the end of his days in obscurity and peace.. you hope. As the sun begins to dip beneath the horizon, a gust hits your backs... whispering among the branches, it seems to beckon you into the heart of darkness. Chimotofu looked around the forest and asked, "Have you been in here before?" He wondered how an old man can live in a place like this. He was probably an old hermit or something. Akari looked around in wonder then in fear, when Akari realized how dark it was she was thankful for her ability to see in the darkest places. Perhaps that would give her a higher chance of survival. When she heard Chimotofu's question she shook her head then said: "No I haven't, but my sister has on multiple occasions." Chimotofu thought of what the old man said of being reborn here. He wondered if Akari's sister was reborn after leaving this forest. Chimotofu hesitated and then asked, "Was your sister different after leaving this forest? Where's the food? And can we find the old man after we find food?" Chimotofu wanted to know more about this man, not to mention that he was still hungry. He wanted to stay in this forest until he got what he was looking for. He continued on walking carefully, making sure he wouldn't bump into something...or someone. Akari walked in silence as she tried to recall whether her sister was different when she came back. "She was a little more bloodthirsty than usual... that's the only change I can think of." Akari said thoughtfully. "As for the food, what kind of food do you want?" Akari asked as she continued to walk beside him. Akari's footsteps were more carefree than her companion, places like these are not scary to her. In fact, there is only one thing that can scare her... and Akari prefers not to talk or even think about it. Chimotofu continued to walk carefully as he thought of the food he wanted to eat. "Well, apples or fish would be nice. Water sounds good as well." He wondered if the old man was lying to him, Akari's sister only changed by bloodthirst...which also confirmed that Akari was a vampire. Her sister was never reborn at all. As Chimotofu was doubting the old man, a scent reached Chimotofu's nose, and only his nose. It smelled like ramen, very delicious ramen. "I smell ramen! That's got to be where the old man is!" With that, Chimotofu began to quickly follow the scent. Akari was beginning to try and figure out how to get the food when the boy said he smelled ramen and ran towards it. "Ramen? In the middle of a forest?" Akari thought. Akari was stupid, but even she thought it was kind of odd that a ramen would be in the middle of a forest like this. Shrugging the thought aside when she saw the boy run after it she quickened her pace to keep up with the boy to see if there was really ramen or not. There is no ramen, unfortunately. The forest rapidly closed around the two young ninja, and a creeping fog envelops them. Discerning direction in this place seems impossible- the irregular treeline and shifting ground give no indication of bearing. After another hour or so of random wandering, a more full darkness seems to settle over the forest. The silence seems to deafen their cries for assistance, as their voices fade into the woods without reply. The little light they can see with, is endowed by a mere sliver of moon above. Just enough to give the indication of the presence of substance in the darkness, with none of the detail. For all they know, the shadows could be swarming with thousands of tiny creatures. As the two peer into the unknown, they get the eerie sensation that something else is staring back at them. As the moon reaches the pinnacle of the sky, the treeline breaks, revealing a strange sight. A series of trenches have been dug into the ground ahead of you. Thousands of figures are lying, hunched over or lying upon the ground around. The field is littered with rusted weapons or tools. The figures appear to be soldiers at first sight- but little else remains of them but their rotten bones and threadbare armors. The entire area is obviously the site of some fierce battle in ancient times. The appearance of the armor is familiar, but the coat of arms upon the armors is unrecognizable. Moreover, while much of the weaponry appears to be rusted knives or spears, scattered about are also strange-looking contraptions of unclear function. Amongst the mazeworks of the trenches are the occasional crater, no doubt caused by some destructive explosion, but have since been filled with murky water. Chimotofu looked at the bones and the surrounding area. All he ate today was part of an apple, and he was starving, but obviously there is no food here. "This is creepy, but it looks like a war happened here. We should get one of those weapons, rusty or not, for protection." He walked cautiously to one of the weapons and picked it up. At that point, a huge pain was in his head and he had a vision. He saw the symbol of his clan and then he saw himself holding a kunai, but with blood on it. He didn't see where the blood came from though. After the vision, he quickly dropped the weapon, kneeled down, and put both his hands on his head. He then fainted and the weapon he was holding started to glow. Akari didn't need a weapon, after all, she wasn't human, she was confident in her physical abilities because she assumed that no human in their right mind would use this place as a base. As for the animals, she was pretty sure that she could protect herself and Chimotofu from any normal animal. That thought caused Akari to smile slightly, but it quickly faded when the scent of blood hit her nose. She ran over to her new friend and tried to shake him awake. "Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Akari asked. Chimotofu didn't respond. Something made a noise from the musty water in the crater, it was a splash. As soon as the splash was heard, Chimotofu woke up and simply walked towards the water without saying a word. His eyes showed no emotion. And like a creepy monster, he simply walked inside the water, deeper and deeper, until he was completely inside and out of Akari's view. After he subsides under the surface of the water, the ripples almost immediately subside... as though no one entered. In spite of her efforts, Akari's attempts to recover Chimotofu only cause her to become increasingly soaked... ----- Meanwhile, on the other side... A shooting pain jerks Chimotofu into wakefullness. His ears are ringing, and his head is dizzy, but he gradually begins to stand. The ground around him is broken and scorched... scores of his comrades lie dead. If not for their proximity to the bomb, and their absorption of much of the impact, he likely would have joined them in the afterlife. Chimotofu's gauntlet covered hand drifts over a spot where blood is spilling out of his armor... it seems some of the shrapnel penetrated. Suddenly, a rough hand grabs his shoulder from behind, and begins pulling him backwards. "Kaburagi! What are you doing standing in the open! They're shelling us, idiot!" The field commander half pulls, half drags Chimotofu into a nearby trench with him... just in time. A cascade of explosions follow the two, and more shrapnel showers across the lip of the trench. A tight pack of Kaburagi's allies are huddled with their helmets pulled down across their faces. The field commander withdraws a red flag from his back, clears the top of the trench, and unfurls it. '"CHAAAARGGEEEE!!!"''' Like a pack of desperate rats fleeing a sinking ship, the men advance their force's line to avoid more losses from the enemy fire. All the while, hundreds of arrows, bullets and other projectiles rain down upon them. Chimotofu had no idea what just happened. He was having a vision of him holding a kunai and now he's in some short of war? He didn't want to die, but he knew this had to be the forest's doing. He decided to try to help win this battle. As he continued to charge, he noticed some of his comrades dying, but the commander was still alive. It was then that he noticed what looked to be the leader of the enemy team and he also noticed that he (Chimotofu) was carrying a sword himself. Chimotofu wanted to see Akari again, but he must win this battle. Like there was no tomorrow, Chimotofu ran straight for the leader, dodging all the attacks from the enemy team, and then he tackled the leader, pointing the sword to the leader's face which was not covered by armor, allowing the leader to be able to see properly. "If you don't want me to kill him, stop this fighting!" What was he saying, he was not a murderer! Also, how did he become taller and was able to dodge all those moves? Chimotofu hesitated and then stood up from the leader, dropped his sword, and looked down to the ground and said, "I am a Tukanachi, but I am not a murderer." Akari's Search Meanwhile, near the murky water, Akari was frantically trying to sense her new friend's misfortune, but no matter how hard she tried to sense for him she could not figure out his exact location. She never experienced this before and it puzzled an idiot like her. "Why can't I sense exactly where he is." Akari thought to herself. "He should be very unfortunate right now so it should be very easy.", Akari continued. She looked around and tried to sense if other beings nearby in the hopes of sensing a passerby that could help her. As Akari enhances her senses, her sense of smell begins picking up the scent of something... delicious. It is the unmistakable smell of blood... the iron smell has saturated the area. A peal of thunder resonates across the sky above Akari, and as she looks up, a drop of red falls into her left eye. It is quickly followed by more drops of blood... bloody rain. When the first drop of blood hit Akari's face she couldn't believe it. "I didn't know the sky could bleed.", Akari said quietly to herself. If her sister was around, Akari knew that Mikuru would call her an idiot, but she didn't care. Ignoring the fact she was about to be covered in blood, she closed her eyes and focused on only her sense of smell, so that she could hopefully tell what blood-type the blood was. Each droplet has a distinct flavor. Some are the strong, pronounced A-type. Others are the more reserved, receptive B-type. A few are the rarer, more nuanced O. Literally thousands of different bloods are raining from the sky above. Before she can realize it, Akari's mouth begins to fill with another scent of blood- her own. For some time, she had been unconsciously clenching her jaw hard enough for her gums to start bleeding. Akari winces as she forcefully opens her sore mouth. A gust of wind blows some of the drops into her mouth, and before she knows it, Akari's vision begins to shift. Her heartbeat begins to rapidly increase, and a terrible thirst begins to grip her. When Akari felt the feeling of thirst consume her, she felt overwhelmed. She hadn't experienced this before and her mind tried to think of different reasons for this sudden thirst. The only reasons she could think of was the rain was causing this feeling or it was because of her other side was finally surfacing. She prayed that she was wrong, she didn't want anything to do with that side. Her racing thoughts distracted her from the fact that she still had a bottle filled with blood in her right hand. It wasn't until a couple of seconds had past when she finally remembered and when she did, she quickly opened the bottle and drank some of the liquid in the hopes of stopping this unusually feeling. Ordinarily, the powerful addiction can be assuaged with a small sip, the occasional indulgence. But always, beneath the surface, the thirst lingers. A drive as deep and as profound as any higher calling. The drive to hunt, to rend, and to consume is ingrained in Akari's nature. It is, quite literally, in her blood. As she pours back the bottle, the old stale blood cascades down her hungry maw. Her rapidly sharpening teeth widen as far as her mouth permits, as she shakes out the last of the few drops... but it does nothing to subside the burning in her stomach. Whatever life-force saturated the blood had long been lost. It holds no substance, no flavor for her. Akari begins walking aimlessly, grabbing her sides as the sensations wrack her body. Stumbling forward, her shaking hands try to catch her weight. To her surprise and horror, claw-tipped fingers cleave across the bark of the treetrunk, marring its surface in jagged lines. Akari usually has a very positive outlook on life, so when she is scared, people know that it isn't small. For the first time since in a long time, Akari was scared. When Akari saw the claw marks she focused on the single thought that could comfort her. The thought that she was an ordinary shinobi. Of course, deep down she knew this was a lie. However, Akari hoped it would help calm herself and this urge to hunt down. Unbidden, a feral, strangely deep voice emanates from Akari's throat. At first she doesn't recognize it, but the sound is unmistakable. She's laughing. The part of her that wants to fight it, wants to hold onto her humanity, is repulsed, afraid. "You think you can win?! FOOL!" The spirit within her seizes control for an instant, burying her sharp teeth into her arm. With an almost childlike abandon, it- not Akari- licks and suckles on the wound, drawing her hot tongue across the red flesh and blood. The steaming liquid burns like fire in her mouth, engendering aggressive emotions she didn't know she had. Akari winced in pain when she bit herself then she thought to herself, "You're the fool if you think I will ever let you have your way. I will do whatever it takes, to not let you have your way. Even if it means sealing most of my chakra or cutting off a hand." Truthfully, she didn't know how to do that, or if it was even possible. This wasn't going to stop her from trying to fine a way to do seal her chakra. With that thought, Akari took a deep breath to try and relax herself. She waited a while as she counted down to 10 before she looked around for a mammal to quench her thirst for blood before an unfortunate human ran across her path.